Lobbyists for the fossil fuel and chemical industries are out in force at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) talks taking place in Korea to advance a global plastics treaty, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) has claimed.
According to analysis by CIEL, alongside the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics (IIPFP), the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the Break Free From Plastic movement, the Global Alliance for Incinerators Alternatives (GAIA), Greenpeace, the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA), the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, and the Uproot Plastics Coalition (Korea), some 220 lobbyists from these sectors are participating in the talks, which run until 1 December.
This figure exceeds the delegations of several major negotiating blocs, including Korea, the European Union, and Pacific Small Island Developing States.
CIEL noted that firms such as Dow and ExxonMobil are heavily represented at the talks, outnumbering civil society groups and independent scientific coalitions.
‘Well-known tactics’
“From the moment the gavel came down at UNEA-5.2 to now, we have watched industry lobbyists surrounding the negotiations with sadly well-known tactics of obstruction, distraction, intimidation, and misinformation,” commented Delphine Levi Alvares, global petrochemical campaign manager, CIEL.
“Their strategy — lifted straight from the climate negotiations playbook — is designed to preserve the financial interests of countries and companies who are putting their fossil-fueled profits above human health, human rights, and the future of the planet. The mandate for this treaty is very clear: ending plastic pollution. Ever-growing evidence from independent scientists, frontline communities, and Indigenous Peoples clearly shows that this won’t be achieved without reducing plastic production. The choice is clear — our lives or their bottom line.”
Industry associations
CIEL also noted that in the days leading up to the talks, a number of industry associations trumpeted the ‘massive societal benefits of plastics’, as well as several countries claiming ‘the sovereign right to exploit resources of states’.
“Plastic markets are already oversupplied. The world simply cannot afford to continue producing more plastics as a means of sustaining fossil fuel dependency ” added Daniela Duran Gonzalez, senior legal campaigner, CIEL. “Shrinking demand, closing facilities, diminishing profit margins — expanding plastic production is bad business.
“This is a moment for courage — for our economy, our planet, our climate, and the rights of present and future generations ” Read more here.
